The proposed research will attempt to: 1) define the physical and/or structural changes which occur in elementary bodies following phagocytosis by susceptible and non-susceptible cells; 2) define the biochemical events associated with the early phase of the growth cycle; 3) determine the time course and nature of the chlamydial mRNA and protein molecules synthesized throughout the growth cycle; 4) accurately define the temporal sequence of chlamydial DNA replication in the infected cell; 5) analyze replicative forms of chlamydial DNA; and 6) isolate membrane-DNA complex to analyze the replication of chlamydial DNA and to obtain replicative DNA polymerase. We plan to use a variety of methods including electron microscopy, density gradient centrifugation, and molecular hybridization.